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General Information for Completing Report of Professional Experience

This information is intended to assist the qualified professional, who intends to serve as the supervisor, in providing a planned sequence of training that will further the professional development of the supervisee, while simultaneously allowing that same experience to be used to meet the experience requirements for licensure. If there are any questions about these guidelines, Subparts 79-17.2 and 79-18.2 of the Commissioner's Regulations, or any other aspect of licensure in applied behavior analysis, please feel free to contact the State Board for Applied Behavior Analysis by e-mailing ababd@nysed.gov, or by calling 518-474-3817, ext.150.

It is important to stress that the role of the supervisor is a significant and responsible one. Although only part of the evidence upon which the Board bases a decision to recommend licensure, both the quality of the supervisor and the supervised experience are significant factors in this process. To a large extent, the control and development of high standards of excellence in the practice of the profession by supervisees will be influenced by the skill and diligence with which supervisors conduct their training and assessment of them. The supervision of an applicant for licensure is considered professional practice. Records of the dates and times of supervision, as well as any other pertinent information should be maintained as a professional record and may be needed for verification of information, in some instances.

Subpart 79-17.2 (for Licensed Behavior Analyst) and Subpart 79-18.2 (for Certified Behavior Analyst Assistant) of the Commissioner's Regulations describe the various facets of acceptable experience, including content, setting, duration, and nature of supervision. Both the applicant and the supervisor should read and be thoroughly familiar with those requirements. The form used to document experience (Form 4) requires specific information, which is needed in order for the Department to evaluate the experience and determine its acceptability for licensure purposes.

Requirements to be aware of when completing Section II

Content

The experience shall consist of a planned programmed sequence of supervised experience in appropriate applied behavior analysis activities, which are defined in section 8802 of the Education Law as the design, implementation and evaluation of environmental modifications, using behavioral stimuli and consequences, to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior, including the use of direct observation, measurement, and functional analysis of the relationship between environment and behavior. Such applied behavior analysis activities must be for the purpose of providing behavioral health treatment for persons with autism and autism spectrum disorders and related disorders, pursuant to a diagnosis and prescription or order from a person who is licensed or otherwise authorized to provide such diagnosis and prescription or ordering of services. The experience must be satisfactory in quality, breadth, scope and nature. Acceptable experience includes:

  1. For a Licensed Behavior Analyst, a college or university-approved master's or higher degree supervised practicum, internship, or field experience, any of which shall integrate applied behavior analysis knowledge and application;
  2. For a Certified Behavior Analyst Assistant, a college or university-approved bachelor's or higher degree supervised practicum, internship, or field experience, any of which shall integrate applied behavior analysis knowledge and application;
  3. Post-degree experience gained in New York State after a limited permit has been issued, under the supervision of a qualified supervisor who owns or is employed or retained by the setting that provides the experience;
  4. Post-degree experience gained in New York State while employed by an exempt setting under the supervision of a qualified supervisor employed or retained by the setting;
  5. Post-degree experience gained in another jurisdiction that meets all of the legal requirements for practice in that jurisdiction under a supervisor who is licensed in a profession authorized to provide applied behavior analysis services in the jurisdiction where the supervised experience occurs; or
  6. For a Licensed Behavior Analyst, teaching the subject of applied behavior analysis as a faculty member for a minimum of six semester hours, provided that the teaching meets the requirements for acceptable experience contained in Subpart 79-17.2 of the Commissioner's Regulations.

Supervisor

  1. Supervision of experience for licensure must be provided by a licensed behavior analyst or an authorized health care practitioner who currently diagnoses, prescribes or orders treatment involving applied behavior analysis in his or her professional practice, such as, a physician, psychologist, or nurse practitioner. The supervisor is responsible for and/or implements the design, coordination, integrity, and quality of the applicant's experience.
  2. For experience obtained in other jurisdictions, the supervisor shall be licensed in a profession authorized to provide applied behavior analysis services in the jurisdiction where the experience occurs.
  3. The supervisor shall be the owner of, be employed by, or be retained by the entity providing the experience opportunities to the applicant who is gaining experience for licensure.
  4. Supervisees may not pay their supervisors.
  5. The supervisor shall not be a member of the applicant's family or an individual who has a close personal relationship with the applicant and/or his or her family.

Acceptable Experience Settings

In order for a setting to be acceptable to the Department for purposes of satisfying the experience requirements for licensure, it must meet the following requirements:

  1. The setting shall be a location which is legally authorized to provide services that constitute the practice of applied behavior analysis as defined in section 8802 of the Education Law.
  2. The setting in which the experience is gained shall be responsible for the services provided by the individuals gaining experience for licensure.
  3. The setting shall provide titles to the applicants gaining experience for licensure which clearly indicate their training status for the duration of the supervised experience. These titles may include terms, such as, intern, student-in-training, ABA trainee, etc.
  4. For a Licensed Behavior Analyst, the setting shall provide supervision of the experience for licensure by a licensed behavior analyst or an authorized health care practitioner, who currently diagnoses, prescribes or orders treatment involving applied behavior analysis in his or her professional practice for persons with autism, autism spectrum disorders and related disorders, or an individual qualified to provide applied behavior analysis services, as determined by the Department.
  5. For a Certified Behavior Analyst Assistant, the setting shall provide supervision by a licensed behavior analyst or by an individual qualified to provide applied behavior analysis services, as determined by the Department.

Applicant Experience

One year of full-time supervised experience, or the part-time equivalent thereof, must be documented by the supervisor.

For Licensed Behavior Analyst, a year is defined as 1,500 clock hours. Full-time experience shall consist of at least 20 hours per week. Part-time experience shall consist of at least 10 hours per week but not more than 19 hours per week, which shall be distributed over at least two days per week.

cceptable experience shall consist of a continuous experience within periods of at least four months, except that experience gained within an academic program shall consist of a continuous experience within a period of not less than one semester and, in the case of teaching experience, shall consist of not less than six credit hours per semester. The four-month periods of experience or the semesters of experience are not required to be immediately successive.

  1. Supervision shall occur weekly.
  2. Supervision shall include at least two hours per week of face-to-face individual supervision pertaining to the services rendered.
  3. Supervision may utilize technology, including video-conferencing, acceptable to the Department.
  4. Up to three hours of supervision will be considered part of the hours of acceptable experience weekly.

For Certified Behavior Analyst Assistant, a year is defined as 1,000 clock hours. Full-time experience shall consist of at least 10 hours per week. Part-time experience shall consist of at least five hours per week but not more than nine hours per week.

Acceptable experience shall consist of a continuous experience within periods of at least four months, except that experience gained within an academic program shall consist of a minimum of 25 hours within a period of not less than one semester. The four-month periods of experience or the semester(s) of experience are not required to be immediately successive.

  1. Supervision shall occur weekly.
  2. Supervision shall include at least one hour per week of face-to-face individual supervision pertaining to the services rendered.
  3. Supervision may utilize technology, including video-conferencing, acceptable to the Department.
  4. Up to two hours of supervision will be considered part of the hours of acceptable experience weekly.